Dynamic driving comparison groups for assessing driving safety

ABSTRACT

Techniques for using dynamic comparison groups to assess driving safety are provided. Customizable comparison groups of vehicle operator&#39;s may be created based upon specific parameters. Drivers belonging to each specific comparison group may be ranked among one another based upon a comparison of telematics data that is associated with each vehicle, which may indicate various metrics associated with each driver&#39;s driving safety. By providing each driver&#39;s ranking within comparison groups, a gamified interface and user interaction is achieved, which promotes competition and acts as an incentive for the drivers to drive safer and avoid risk. Additional incentives may be provided in the form of automobile insurance premium discounts and recommendations for improving the driver&#39;s ranking.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Provisional Application No.62/514,049, entitled “Dynamic Driving Comparison Groups For AssessingDriving Safety” and filed on Jun. 2, 2017, which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to using dynamic comparison groups forassessing driving safety and, more particularly, to presenting agamified interactive process that ranks drivers associated with vehiclesamong customizable comparison groups to incentivize safer driving.

BACKGROUND

Generally, vehicle operators (i.e., drivers of vehicles) may exhibitdifferent types of driving behavior while operating a vehicle indifferent locations, during different conditions, etc. Therefore,conventional systems that may compare and rate the behavior of vehicleoperators on a larger scale without compensating for such differencesmay have several drawbacks.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In contrast to conventional systems, the embodiments of the presentdisclosure are related to utilizing several customizable variables suchas demographic, behavioral, chronological, location-based, andweather-related variables to create comparison groups in which vehicleoperators are ranked by driving safety (e.g., safer drivers receivehigher rankings). To do so, the present disclosure generally relates tocollecting telematics data from several vehicles, and calculatingranking metrics using the telematics data for several vehicles within acreated comparison group. Based upon the ranking metrics, the vehicleoperators of each of the vehicles may be ranked. Some vehicle operatorsmay receive discounts on their automobile insurance premiums if they areranked high, while other vehicle operators may receive recommendationson how to improve their driving habits in order to improve their rankwithin a comparison group.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for dynamically comparingcustomizable groups to assess driving safety may be provided. The methodmay include one or more processors (1) receiving a first set oftelematics data associated with a vehicle operated by a driver; (2)identifying one or more comparison groups including the driver and aplurality of other drivers that share a set of common customizableparameters, each driver from among the plurality of other driversoperating a respective vehicle from among a plurality of other vehicles;(3) selectively accessing a second set of telematics data associatedwith each of the plurality of other vehicles; (4) calculating a rankingmetric for the driver and each of the plurality of other drivers basedupon the first set of telematics data and the second set of telematicsdata to generate a set of ranking metrics, and/or (5) ranking the driverand the plurality of other drivers within the comparison group basedupon the set of ranking metrics to facilitate encouraging and rewardingrisk-averse behavior and/or driving. The method may include additional,less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer server for dynamically comparingcustomizable groups to assess driving safety may be provided. The servermay include (1) a communication unit configured to receive a first setof telematics data associated with a vehicle operated by a driver; and(2) a processor unit configured to: (a) identify one or more comparisongroups including the driver and a plurality of other drivers that sharea set of common customizable parameters, each driver from among theplurality of other drivers operating a respective vehicle from among aplurality of other vehicles; (b) selectively access a second set oftelematics data associated with each of the plurality of other vehicles;(c) calculate a ranking metric for the driver and each of the pluralityof other drivers based upon the first set of telematics data and thesecond set of telematics data to generate a set of ranking metrics;and/or (d) rank the driver and the plurality of other drivers within thecomparison group based upon the set of ranking metrics. The server mayinclude additional, less, or alternate components, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

In yet another aspect, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium for dynamically comparing customizable groups to assess drivingsafety may be provided. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium may include instructions executable by one or more processorsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to (1) receive a first set of telematics data associated witha vehicle operated by a driver; (2) identify one or more comparisongroups including the driver and a plurality of other drivers that sharea set of common customizable parameters, each driver from among theplurality of other drivers operating a respective vehicle from among aplurality of other vehicles; (3) selectively access a second set oftelematics data associated with each of the plurality of other vehicles;(4) calculate a ranking metric for the driver and each of the pluralityof other drivers based upon the first set of telematics data and thesecond set of telematics data to generate a set of ranking metrics;and/or (5) rank the driver and the plurality of other drivers within thecomparison group based upon the set of ranking metrics. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium may include additional, less, oralternate instructions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

As discussed further herein, systems, computing devices, and/orcomputer-readable media storing executable instructions for implementingall or part of the various techniques described herein may also beprovided, or act in combination with one another, in some embodiments.For example, computing devices and systems may include one or more ofthe following: a special-purpose computing device, a mobile computingdevice, a personal electronic device, an on-board computer, one or moreremote servers or a cloud computing system, one or more remote datastorage entities, one or more sensors, one or more communication modulesconfigured to communicate wirelessly via radio links, radio frequencylinks, wireless or digital communication channels, and/or one or morenon-transitory, tangible program memories coupled to one or moreprocessors of the aforementioned devices and/or systems. Such programmemories may store instructions, which, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, may cause a device and/or system described herein (orindividual components of such a system) to implement part or all of oneor more techniques described herein. Additional or alternative featuresdescribed herein may be included in some embodiments.

Advantages will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart from the following description of the preferred aspects which havebeen shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized,the present aspects may be capable of other and different aspects, andtheir details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The figures described below depict various aspects of the presentdisclosure. It should be understood that each figure depicts anembodiment of a particular aspect of the present disclosure. Further,wherever possible, the following description refers to the referencenumerals included in the following figures, in which features depictedin multiple figures are designated with consistent reference numerals.

There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presentlydiscussed, it being understood, however, that the present embodimentsare not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown,wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary driving assessment system, in accordancewith certain aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary remote server, inaccordance with certain aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device, inaccordance with certain aspects of the present technology.

FIGS. 4A-4H depict an exemplary user interface associated withdisplaying information about dynamic comparison groups for assessingdriving safety, in accordance with certain aspects of the presenttechnology.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary flow diagram, in accordance with certainaspects of the present technology.

The figures depict aspects of the present invention for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that alternate aspects of the structures andmethods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from theprinciples of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments relate to, inter alia, using dynamic,customizable comparison groups for assessing driving safety, which maybe used to determine rankings of one or more vehicle operators thatbelong to the same comparison group, and whom may be insured by aninsurance provider. Conventionally, the behavior of vehicle operatorsmay be compared with each other on a large-scale (e.g., drivers in thesame state), but other variables (e.g., demographic, behavior, location,etc.) may further influence the behavior of vehicle operators.Therefore, a driver's rating is better assessed by comparing thedriver's performance to drivers from smaller, similar groups, ratherthan large-scale groups.

The aspects described herein leverage collected vehicle telematics datafrom a group of vehicle operators having one or more variables orparameters (e.g., age, location, etc.) in common to determine a rankingfor each driver belonging to a created group. In particular, a “target”vehicle operator that operates a target vehicle may belong to one ormore specific comparison groups. For example, a comparison group may bebased upon one or more of the driver's age, location, the type ofvehicle, etc. Additionally, road conditions (e.g., road construction,weather, traffic, etc.) may also be considered when ranking each driverfor each comparison group.

For each comparison group, a target vehicle operator may be rankedamongst the other drivers included in that group. Each driver in a groupmay also receive feedback regarding his or her rating within one or moregroups, which may be created, for example, by the driver's and/or theinsurance provider. In this way, the customizable groups allow for a“gamified” interaction among the different drivers, which acts as anincentive for drivers to improve their level of driving safety to“compete” with other drivers, thereby reducing the overall risk ofinsuring these drivers.

In some aspects, the insurer may further award safer drivers withincertain groups with monetary incentives such as discounts on premiums,for example. For instance, the aspects described herein may supply aninsurance provider with information about the rankings of individuals(i.e., vehicle operators) within one or more comparison groups. Theinsurance provider may then determine an automobile insurance premiumdiscount for insured individuals with high rankings within comparisongroups selected by the insurer. Conversely, the insurance provider maydetermine recommendations to insured individuals with low rankingswithin the comparison group to improve their driving behavior, and thus,improve their rankings. The aspects described herein may periodically orcontinuously alert insured individuals of their current ranking and/orchanges in their rankings within one or more comparison groups. In thisway, drivers who improve their ranking may be eligible for futureautomobile insurance premium discounts, even if they currently do not.

Exemplary Technical Advantages

The aspects described herein offer numerous benefits. In particular,vehicle operators may be more motivated to drive or operate a vehicle(e.g., an autonomous vehicle) in a safer manner if there is an incentiveof gamified competition among drivers and/or an opportunity to lowertheir automobile insurance premiums. If individuals operate vehicles ina safer manner, roadways may become safer, which may prevent accidentsand collisions, and in turn may prevent property damage, injury, anddeath. It should be appreciated that these are only some examples, andthat other benefits are also envisioned.

The aspects discussed herein address challenges that are specific todetermining driver rankings within comparison groups having one or morecommon variables. In particular, these challenges relate to difficultiesin effectively evaluating an individual's driving behavior or vehicleoperation to properly determine a ranking for the driver within eachcomparison group. To address these issues, the techniques discussedherein utilize telematics data that is collected from several computingdevices, vehicles, traffic infrastructure, etc. In various aspects, therankings for drivers within the comparison group may be determined usingthis telematics data. Additionally, the various aspects described hereinmay determine an automobile insurance premium discount orrecommendations for a driver to improve his/her driving behavior basedupon the driver's ranking within the comparison group. Thus, individualswill be motivated to be safer drivers because of the incentive ofdiscounts on their automobile insurance premiums.

Further, because the aspects described herein employ the collection,compiling, storing, and displaying of data associated with vehicles andtheir respective operators, the aspects are necessarily rooted incomputer technology. In particular, the aspects overcome the notedshortcomings that specifically arise in the realm of how telematics datais collected and implemented to provide accurate comparisons of driverrankings. Accordingly, the aspects described herein provide advantagesvia the ability to measure, collect, access, and/or process telematicsdata.

Similarly, the aspects described herein also provide improvements tovarious technical fields. Namely, these technical fields include dataprocessing, determining statistically valid parameters on which to basecomparison groups, generating driver rankings, and determining anautomobile insurance premium discount or recommendations for saferdriving behavior based upon driver rankings. Instead of merely beingperformed by hardware components using basic functions, the aspectsdescribed herein employ a unique combination of complex steps that gobeyond the mere concept of simply retrieving and combining data using acomputer.

In particular, the hardware components described herein may performvarious functions that include, for example, capturing sensor data,analyzing the sensor data, determining a ranking for an individual(i.e., driver or vehicle operator) within a comparison group,determining a discount on automobile insurance premium for theindividual, determining recommendations for the individual to improvehis/her driving behavior, and communicating information to theindividual such as the driver rankings via an electronic device. Thisinformation may include, for example, discounts on automobile insurancepremiums and recommendations for the individual to improve his/herdriving behavior. This combination of elements further imposesmeaningful limits in that the operations are applied to improving sensordata processing and determining driver rankings in a manner that moreaccurately compares driving performance of different drivers.

The aspects described herein may also support dynamic, real-time, ornear real-time analysis of any captured, received, and/or detected data.In particular, an electronic device (e.g., a smartphone) may receivedata about a ranking of a vehicle operator that belongs to a particularcomparison group of vehicle operators as well as an automobile insurancepremium discount in real-time or near real-time, and may generaterecommendations to improve the individual's ranking in real-time or nearreal-time. In this regard, a vehicle operator is afforded the benefit ofan automobile insurance premium that represents an accuraterepresentation of his/her driving behavior, as well as recommendationsto improve his/her driving behavior, to create a safer vehicleenvironment in a timely and efficient manner.

System Overview

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary driving assessment system, in accordancewith certain aspects of the present technology. In various aspects, thesystem 100 may include one or more network(s) 110, remote server(s) 150,database(s) 160, one or more smart infrastructure components 155, andone or more vehicles 120, 130, and 140, each of which is associated withan electronic device 125, 135, and 145, respectively. Although FIG. 1illustrates one network 110, one remote server 150, one database 160,one smart infrastructure component 155, and three vehicles 120, 130, and140 with associated electronic devices 125, 135, and 145, it is to beunderstood that system 100 may include any suitable number of suchcomponents.

In certain embodiments, the network(s) 110 may support any suitablenumber and/or type of data communication via any standard or technology(e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM, GPRS, EV-DO, UWB,Internet, IEEE 802 including Ethernet, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, andothers). The network(s) 110 may also include one or more private orlocal networks or dedicated frequency bands.

Each of electronic devices 125, 135, and 145 may communicate via thenetwork(s) 110 via any suitable number and/or type of wired and/orwireless links, which are represented in FIG. 1 as links 170 a-170 c.The electronic devices 125, 135, and 145 may additionally oralternatively communicate with one other and/or the remote server 150via the network(s) 110. For example, the electronic devices 125, 135,and 145 may be located in each of vehicles 120, 130, and 140,respectively, and thus collect and transmit telematics data associatedwith each of vehicles 120, 130, and 140 to the remote server 150. Invarious aspects, the electronic devices 125, 135, and 145 may beimplemented as any suitable type of device, which may be integrated aspart of the vehicle in which it is located or as a portable deviceseparate from the vehicle. For example, the electronic devices 125, 135,and 145 may be implemented as mobile electronic devices, such assmartphones, or as integrated components, such as on-board vehiclecomputers.

The vehicles 120, 130, 140 may be human operated, or autonomous orsemi-autonomous vehicles, in some embodiments. It should be appreciatedthat other types of electronic devices and/or mobile devices areenvisioned, such as notebook computers, tablets, phablets, GNSS-enableddevices, smart watches, smart glasses, smart bracelets, wearableelectronics, PDAs (personal digital assistants), pagers, computingdevices configured for wireless communication, etc.

Moreover, although not shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of brevity, one ormore of vehicles 120, 130, and 140 may likewise communicate with othervehicles, other electronic devices 125, 135, and 145, one or more smartinfrastructure components 155, and/or the remote server 150 directly(e.g., via a separate link not shown in FIG. 1) and/or indirectly (e.g.,via one or more electronic devices 125, 135, and 145 functioning as a“relay” or “proxy,” and/or via one or more via network(s) 110).Embodiments in which one or more of vehicles 120, 130, and 140 maycommunicate with other devices, such as remote server 150, may beparticularly useful when one or more of vehicles 120, 130, and 140 isconfigured to measure, generate, collect, and/or transmit telematicsdata independently of the electronic devices 125, 135, and 145. Forexample, embodiments include one or more of vehicles 120, 130, and 140being configured with any suitable number and/or type of sensors tomeasure telematics data.

This telematics data may include the same type of data measured by theelectronic devices 125, 135, and 145, as further discussed herein, ordifferent types of data. For example, one or more of vehicles 120, 130,and 140 may include specialized sensors that may be configured tomeasure different metrics (or the same metrics) as the one or moreelectronic devices 125, 135, and 145.

Such specialized and/or integrated sensors are not shown in FIG. 1 forpurposes of brevity. However, examples of the telematics data generatedby such sensors associated with one or more of vehicles 120, 130, and140 may include data measured by radar, ultrasonic sensors, LIDAR,global navigation satellite system (GNSS) enabled devices, etc.Therefore, the telematics data may include data indicating the vehiclespeed, acceleration, cornering, braking, direction, route, heading, GPSinformation (e.g., speed and location), other location data, as well asother information. Additionally or alternatively, the sensors associatedwith one or more of vehicles 120, 130, and 140 may generate data (whichis then included in a telematics data transmission) indicative ofchanges in the vehicle's geographic position over time, weatherconditions, road conditions, etc. The details of the telematics data andadditional examples of the type of information that may be included inthe telematics data transmission are further discussed below.

Smart infrastructure component 155 may be implemented as any suitabletype of traffic infrastructure component configured to receivecommunications from and/or to send communications to other devices, suchas other vehicles 120, 130, 140, other electronic devices 125, 135, and145, and/or the remote server 150 directly (e.g., via a separate linknot shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of brevity) and/or indirectly (e.g.,via link 170 e in conjunction with one or more network(s) 110 or via oneor more electronic devices 125, 135, and 145 functioning as a “relay” or“proxy”), for example. In various aspects, smart infrastructurecomponent 155 may be implemented as a traffic light, a railroad crossinglight, a construction notification sign, a roadside display configuredto display messages, a billboard display, etc.

In various aspects, the smart infrastructure component 155 may beconfigured with any suitable number and/or type of sensors to measuretelematics data. This telematics data may include the same type of datameasured by the electronic devices 125, 135, and 145 (and/or thevehicles 120, 130, and/or 140), or different types of data. For example,the smart infrastructure component 155 may include integrated and/orspecialized sensors that are not shown in FIG. 1 for purposes ofbrevity. Similar to the data measured by one or more of vehicles 120,130, and/or 140, as discussed above, examples of the telematics datagenerated by sensors associated with the smart infrastructure component155 may include data measured by radar, ultrasonic sensors, LIDAR, GNSSenabled devices, etc.

However, given that the smart infrastructure component 155 may bestationary and have a dedicated source of AC power compared to thevehicles 120, 130, and/or 140, aspects include smart infrastructurecollecting, measuring, generating, and/or transmitting telematics datain a manner that leverages these advantages. For example, the smartinfrastructure 155 may be configured to utilize a dedicated connectionto the remote server 150, given that it is not moving and cellular towerhandoffs are not required. To provide another example, the smartinfrastructure component 155 may be configured with more accurate,sophisticated, and/or power-intensive sensors or other components thancannot feasibly be implemented using a vehicle's battery-powered system.

In various aspects, the telematics data measured by the smartinfrastructure component 155 may likewise include data indicatingvehicle speed, acceleration, cornering, braking, direction, route,heading, GPS information (e.g., speed and location), other locationdata, as well as other information. Additionally or alternatively, thesensors associated with the smart infrastructure component 155 maygenerate data (which is then included in a telematics data transmission)indicative of changes in one or more vehicle's geographic position overtime, weather conditions, road conditions, etc.

Remote server 150 may be configured to communicate with one or morevehicles 120, 130, and/or 140, one or more electronic devices 125, 135,and/or 145, and/or one or more smart infrastructure components (e.g.,the smart infrastructure component 155) directly and/or indirectly(e.g., via the network(s) 110 using any suitable number and/or type ofwired and/or wireless links, represented in FIG. 1 as link 170 d). Theremote server 150 may also interface with a database 160 via anysuitable number and/or type of wired and/or wireless links, which may berepresented in FIG. 1 as link 165. In another aspect, the database 160may be integrated as part of or otherwise built into the remote server150. The database 160 may contain or store any suitable type and amountof various information and data. In one implementation, the database 160may store historical telematics data associated with a plurality ofother vehicles that were previously operated by a plurality of drivers.Additionally, the database 160 may store information about past andpresent driver rankings for past and present comparison groups. Further,the database 160 may also store other information such as automobileinsurance policy information, personal information of insuredindividuals, etc.

In various aspects, each of the one or more vehicles 120, 130, and/or140, one or more electronic devices 125, 135, and/or 145, and/or one ormore smart infrastructure components (e.g., smart infrastructurecomponent 155) may transmit a unique identifier (e.g., in the telematicsdata transmission or as part of the telematics data itself) such thatthe telematics data transmitted by each device may be later correlatedto each device via the remote server 150. To this end, certain aspectsinclude the remote server 150 receiving telematics data and/or othersuitable data from one or more components of system 100, such as one ormore vehicles 120, 130, and/or 140, one or more electronic devices 125,135, and/or 145, and/or one or more smart infrastructure components(e.g., the smart infrastructure component 155).

The remote server 150 may determine comparison groups, as discussedfurther below, process the received telematics data, and compare thetelematics data of vehicles within the same comparison group. Based uponthis analysis, the remote server 150 may determine rankings for thedrivers within the same comparison group, update information associatedwith the insured drivers' insurance account information, such aspremiums, qualifying discounts, etc. The remote server 150 may thentransmit information related to the rankings of the drivers in thecomparison group and/or the insured individuals' insurance accountinformation (e.g., an automobile insurance premium) to one or more ofthe electronic devices 125, 135, and 145. The operation of the remoteserver 150 is further discussed below.

Detailed Operation of an Exemplary Remote Server

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary remote server 200, inaccordance with certain aspects of the present technology. In oneembodiment, remote server 200 may be an implementation of remote server150, as shown and discussed with respect to FIG. 1. Although only asingle server 200 is shown in FIG. 2, this is only one of manyembodiments. In some embodiments, multiple servers 200 may be configuredto have a logical presence of a single entity, such as a server bank oran arrangement known as “cloud computing.” These configurations mayprovide various advantages, such as enabling near real-time uploads anddownloads of information as well as periodic uploads and downloads ofinformation. However, for ease of discussion and not limitation, theserver 200 is referred to herein using the singular tense.

In one aspect, the server 200 may include one or more controllers 220that are operatively connected to a data storage device 225, which mayinclude any suitable device such as a database, for example, (e.g., thedatabase 160, as discussed with respect to FIG. 1) via link 228 and/or230, which may include one or more local, wired, wireless, and/or remotelinks. The server 200 may access data stored in the data storage device225 when executing various functions, tasks, and/or techniquesassociated with the aspects described herein related to the use ofdynamic comparison groups to assess driving. It should be noted thatalthough FIG. 2 depicts a single data storage device 225, aspectsinclude the data storage device 225 being implemented as multiplephysical data storage entities, such as a data bank or a data farm.

In various aspects, the data storage device 225 may be adapted orotherwise configured to store data related to historical telematics dataassociated with a vehicles that were previously operated by respectivedrivers. Additionally or alternatively, the data storage device 225 maystore data related to current and/or historical comparison grouprankings such as personal information of the individuals, vehicleinformation (e.g., vehicle make, vehicle model, VIN, etc.), informationabout individual automobile insurance policies, etc. In various aspects,at least some of the data stored at the data storage device 225 may bedetermined or generated based upon at least a portion of the historicaltelematics data. The data storage device 225 may additionally oralternatively store other types of data used to determine comparisongroup rankings such as weather-related data, road condition data,traffic data, demographic data, location data, behavior-related data,driving routes, each individual's participation in various socialnetworking groups, etc.

As further discussed herein, the telematics data collected by the remoteserver 200 from the various electronic devices (e.g., electronic devices125, 135, and 145, as shown in FIG. 1) may be received in a periodic orcontinuous fashion. Thus, the telematics data received by the remoteserver 200 may represent various data points received from eachelectronic device, which are stored in the data storage device 225 andtime-stamped or otherwise time correlated. Additionally, the telematicsdata may be transmitted with an indication of a geographic location ofeach electronic device when the telematics data was transmitted. Thus,the various data points stored in the data storage device 225 may alsoindicate a respective geographic location of each electronic device thatis tracked over time. Moreover, the telematics data points stored in thedata storage device 225 may be correlated to when and where eachtelematics data point was collected.

Furthermore, while not shown, additional data storage devices orentities may be linked to the controller(s) 220 in any suitable manner,e.g., locally and/or remotely. For example, additional databases and/ordata storage devices (not shown) that store various types of information(e.g., vehicle collisions, road conditions, vehicle insurance policyinformation, driver performance, vehicle use information, etc.), may becommunicatively connected to the controller(s) 220 and/or to the server210. Additional databases or data storage devices (not shown) may becommunicatively connected to the controller(s) 220 and/or to the server210 via one or more links 230 to one or more networks 232. Theseadditional databases or storage devices may store, for example, datamaintained by third parties (e.g., weather databases, road constructiondatabases, traffic congestion databases, road network databases, IoT(Internet-of-Things) or sensor databases implemented by a city or otherjurisdiction, etc.). In one embodiment, the one or more networks 232 mayinclude the network 110, as shown and discussed with respect to FIG. 1.

In various aspects, the controller 220 may include one or more programmemories 235, one or more processors 240 (which may be called a“processor unit” and include, for example, one or more microcontrollersand/or microprocessors), one or more random-access memories (RAMs) 250,and an input/output (I/O) block 260, one or more of which may beinterconnected via an address/data bus 255. Although only one processorunit 240 is shown, the controller 220 may include multiple processorunits 240, each of which may include one or more individual processors.

The memory of the controller 220 may also include multiple RAMs 250 andmultiple program memories 235, if desired. The RAM 250 and programmemories 235 may be implemented as any suitable type of memory, such assemiconductor memories, magnetically readable memories, biologicallyreadable memories, or optically readable memories, for example. Thecontroller 220 may also be operatively connected to the network 232 viathe link 230.

The I/O block 260 may be referred to herein as a “communication unit,”and facilitate communication between server 200 and one or more othercomputing devices, such as data storage device 225, network 232, variouselectronic devices (e.g., electronic devices 125, 135, and 145, vehicles120, 130, and/or 140, smart infrastructure components 155, etc., asshown in FIG. 1) in accordance with any suitable type and/or number ofcommunication protocols. Therefore, the I/O block 260 may include anysuitable number and/or type of components to facilitate thisfunctionality, such as any number of ports, transmitters, receivers,transceivers, antennas, etc. Furthermore, the I/O block 260 may includea number of different types of I/O blocks to facilitate different typesof communication protocols and/or simultaneous communications with anysuitable number of different components.

The controller 220 may further include a number of applications 261-262stored in its program memory 235. In one embodiment, the applications261-262 may include one or more software applications or sets ofcomputer-executable instructions that are stored on the program memory(or memories) 235 and executable by the processor unit 240. For example,program memory 235 may represent a tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, with each of the applications 261-262including instructions executable by one or more processors (e.g.,controller 220 and/or processor unit 240) that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform variousacts as described herein. To provide another example, the applications261-262 may be implemented at least partially in firmware and/or inhardware at the server 200.

The various applications may be executed on the same processor unit 240or on different computer processors in embodiments, as desired. Further,while the various applications 261-262 are depicted as separateapplications, two or more of the applications 261-262 may be integratedas an integral application, if desired. In some embodiments, at leastone of the applications 261-262 may be implemented in conjunction withanother application (not shown) that is stored and executed at theserver 200.

In various aspects, the applications 261-262 may include a loggeneration application 261 configured to generate and record logsincluding telematics data collected from various vehicles (i.e., fromelectronic devices associated with the various vehicles) as well aspreviously-recorded comparison group rankings. The applications 261-262may also include a dynamic comparison groups (DCG) application 262. TheDCG application 262 may be configured to determine rankings for insureddrivers within the same comparison group, to update insured drivers'insurance account information, and to support providing feedback todrivers such as their rankings within various comparison groups, updatesto their insurance premiums, recommendations to improve their rankings,etc.

For example, DCG application 262 may cause the remote server 200 toaccess or otherwise communicate with one or more other servers,databases, etc., to securely update insurance account information, suchas insured drivers' rankings within a comparison group, whether driversqualify for safe driver discounts and/or automobile insurance premiums,etc. This information may be updated in accordance with any suitableschedule based upon when new telematics data is acquired. For example,driver rankings may be computed daily, weekly, monthly, etc.Additionally, the DCG application 262 may facilitate remote server 200determining updated automobile insurance premiums as the rankings areupdated. The details associated with determining these rankings, andother functions associated with the server 200, are further discussedbelow.

Detailed Operation of an Exemplary Electronic Device

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device, inaccordance with aspects of the present technology. FIG. 3 illustrates adiagram of an exemplary mobile or other electronic device 300 (such asone of the electronic devices 125, 135, and/or 145 as discussed withrespect to FIG. 1) in which the functionalities as discussed herein maybe implemented. Aspects include electronic device 300 being configuredfor transport in a vehicle and/or connected to an on-board telematicsplatform of the vehicle. Further, aspects include the electronic device300 being integrated into an on-board system of the vehicle. In variousaspects, any portion of processing performed via server 200 may beperformed via the electronic device 300, and vice-versa.

In certain aspects, the electronic device 300 may include a processorunit 372 and a memory 378. The memory 378 may store an operating system379 and a Dynamic Comparison Groups (DCG) application 380. For example,memory 378 may represent a tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium, with each of the operating system 379 and the DCG application380 including instructions executable by one or more processors (e.g.,processor unit 372) that, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform various acts as describedherein. The memory 378 may include one or more forms of volatile and/ornon-volatile, fixed, and/or removable memory, such as read-only memory(ROM), electronic programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random accessmemory (RAM), erasable electronic programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), and/or other hard drives, flash memory, Micro SD cards, andothers.

Furthermore, a computer program product in accordance with an aspect mayinclude a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard random accessmemory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB) drive, orthe like) having computer-readable program code embodied therein,wherein the computer-readable program code may be adapted to be executedby the processor unit 372 (e.g., working in connection with theoperating system 379) to facilitate the functions as described herein.In this regard, the program code may be implemented In any desiredlanguage, and may be implemented as machine code, assembly code, bytecode, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via C, C++, Java,Actionscript, Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML). In some embodiments,the computer program product may be part of a cloud network ofresources.

For example, the operating system 379 may represent an initial operatingsystem utilized by the electronic device 300. That is, if the electronicdevice 300 is implemented as a smartphone, then operating system 379 mayinclude one or more files, applications, code, etc., to facilitate userinteraction with, and operation of, the electronic device 300.

The DCG application 380 may include an application that is downloaded toor otherwise installed onto the electronic device 300. In variousaspects, the DCG application 380 may collect and transmit telematicsdata and/or other types of data in the background and/or while anoperator is driving a vehicle via communication module 377. For example,the DCG application 380 may monitor sensor data collected via the sensorarray 384 and transmit this data to a server (e.g., server 200), asfurther discussed below. DCG application 380 may also monitor orotherwise collect other types of data, which may be transmitted with orseparate from the sensor data transmissions, such as time when sensordata was collected, weather conditions (e.g., received via externalcommunications), data identifying the vehicle operator, etc. The datatransmitted by the electronic device 300 in this manner, which mayinclude sensor data and other types of data (e.g., geographic locationdata), may collectively be referred to herein as “telematics data.”

Moreover, as used herein, the term “telematics data” may refer to anysuitable type of data that may be used to identify a particular device,a particular driver, driving behavior or habits, road conditions,vehicle locations, users, vehicles, a vehicle's movement while beingdriven, etc., regardless of the particular component or source thatgenerates the telematics data. For example, telematics data may includethe aforementioned sensor metrics generated by one or more components ofthe electronic device 300, such as sensor metrics and/or geographiclocation data generated and/or measured by the sensor array 384. Toprovide another example, the telematics data may include informationgenerated by one or more sensors, controllers, or other suitablecomponents of a particular vehicle (e.g., vehicles 120, 130, and/or 140,as discussed above with reference to FIG. 1). To provide yet anotherexample, the telematics data may include information generated by one ormore sensors or portion of a smart infrastructure (e.g., smartinfrastructure 155, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 1).

To provide an illustrative example, the telematics data may include,regardless of the device generating it, sensor metrics or otherinformation indicating changes in a vehicle's acceleration, braking,cornering, and/or velocity over time, which may include a timestampassociated with the sampled telematics data to allow each sampled datapoint to be associated with a specific time, thereby facilitatingtracking changes in the telematics data. To provide yet another example,the telematics data may include sensor metrics or other informationrelated to accelerometer sensor measurements, gyroscope sensormeasurements, compass heading measurements, etc. To provide furtherexamples, the telematics data may include information indicative ofchanges in the geographic location of a particular electronic deviceand/or vehicle, which may likewise be correlated to a timestamp toidentify the movement of a vehicle over time, and thus track itsvelocity and/or route.

Still further, the telematics data may include information indicative ofa usage of an electronic device (e.g., a log indicating when the userwas texting or talking on the phone while driving) and/or a batterylevel associated with the electronic device. To provide even moreexamples, the telematics data may include unique information identifyinga particular user, vehicle, or smart infrastructure component. Thetelematics data may also include data identifying certain weatherconditions, which may be measured by a particular device or retrievedfrom a separate data source via data communications by that device andincluded in a subsequent telematics data transmission. This list is notmeant to be exhaustive or limiting, and it will be understood that othertypes of information may be included in the telematics data transmissionnot listed here in accordance with the aspects described herein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The electronic device 300 may further include a communication module 377that is configured to support data communications between electronicdevice 300 and one or more other components (e.g., other electronicdevices 125, 135, and 145, vehicles 120, 130, and/or 140, remote servers150, etc., as shown in FIG. 1). For example, the communication module377 may transmit (e.g., telematics data) and/or receive data and/ornotifications from other devices (e.g., server 200) regarding theinsured individual's current risk assessment, premium, or updatedthereof, which may then be displayed via display screen 382.

According to some embodiments, the communication module 377 may includeany suitable type and/or number of components to facilitate suchcommunications, which may occur in accordance with any suitable numberand/or type of commination protocols. For example, the communicationmodule 377 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN,and/or WPAN transceivers) functioning in accordance with IEEE standards,3GPP standards, or other standards, and configured to receive andtransmit data via one or more external ports 376. Further, thecommunication module 377 may include a short-range network component(e.g., an RFID reader) configured for short-range communications.

The electronic device 300 may further include a sensor array 384. Theprocessor unit 372 may execute instructions stored in the DCGapplication 380 to interface with the sensor array 384 to retrieve andprocess corresponding sensor data. The sensor array 384 may include oneor more sensors configured to collect various types of sensor data, suchas velocity data, for example. In various aspects, the sensor array 384may include one or more cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, velocitysensors, magnetometers, barometers, thermometers, proximity sensors,light sensors, Hall Effect sensors, etc. In some aspects in which thesensor array 384 includes one or more accelerometers, the sensor array384 may be configured to measure and/or collect accelerometer valuesutilizing an X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis accelerometer. In accordancewith such aspects, the sensor array 384 may measure sensor metric valuesas a three-dimensional accelerometer vector that represents the movementof the electronic device 300 in three dimensional space by combining theoutputs of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis accelerometers using anysuitable techniques.

In one aspect, accelerometer movement may then be analyzed (eitherlocally via electronic device 300 or via a remote server such as remoteserver 200) to determine the velocity of the electronic device 300, andthus the velocity of the vehicle in which the electronic device 300 islocated. Additionally, accelerometer movement may be analyzed forstarting and stopping acceleration of the vehicle, road conditions(e.g., potholes) experienced by the vehicle, etc. Aspects may alsoinclude the sensor array 384 measuring the force at which a turn is made(i.e., cornering, braking, etc.). In other words, certain aspects mayinclude the sensor array 384 directly measuring telematics data of theelectronic device 300 via any suitable sensor. In any event, the sensorarray 384 may facilitate measuring telematics data of the electronicdevice 300 over time in accordance with any suitable sampling period,such as continuously or periodically, for example.

In one aspect, the sensor array 384 may additionally include a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) configured to determine thegeographic location of electronic device 300. In accordance with suchaspects, the global navigation satellite system may generate geographiclocation data utilizing any suitable global positioning techniques. Forexample, the GNSS may communicate with one or more satellites and/orwireless transmitters to determine a location of the electronic device300. The GNSS may use “Assisted Global Positioning System” (A-GPS),satellite GPS, or any other suitable global positioning protocol (e.g.,the GLONASS system operated by the Russian government, the Galileosystem operated by the European Union, etc.) to determine a geographiclocation of the electronic device 300. Thus, the telematics datatransmitted by the electronic device 300 may additionally includegeographic location data.

Some aspects may include the geographic location data being analyzed(either locally via electronic device 300 or via a server such as server200) to determine the location of the electronic device at differenttimes, which may be correlated to other data included in the telematicsdata, such as sensor data indicating the acceleration, velocity,braking, cornering, etc., of the electronic device 300 (and thus thevehicle in which it is located). Some aspects may also include thegeographic location data being analyzed (either locally via electronicdevice 300 or via a server such as server 200) to track the movement ofa vehicle in which the electronic device 300 is located by calculatingchanges in the vehicle's position over time in accordance with thegeographic location data.

The electronic device 300 may further include a user interface 381 thatis configured to present information to a user and/or to receive inputsfrom the user. As shown in FIG. 3, the user interface 381 may include adisplay screen 382 and I/O components 383 (e.g., ports, capacitive orresistive touch sensitive input panels, keys, buttons, lights, LEDs,speakers, microphones). According to some embodiments, the user mayinteract with the electronic device 300 via the user interface 381 toreview information and/or perform other functions as further discussedherein.

Exemplary User Interface

FIGS. 4A-4H depict an exemplary user interface associated withdisplaying information about dynamic comparison groups for assessingdriving safety, in accordance with aspects of the present technology.FIGS. 4A-4H illustrate display interfaces 400, 410, 420, 430, 440, 450,460, and 470 respectively, of an electronic device (such as theelectronic device 125, 135, and/or 145 with respect to FIG. 1 and/or theelectronic device 300 with respect to FIG. 3) for a Dynamic ComparisonGroups (DCG) application (e.g., DCG application 380). It is to beunderstood that the information discussed herein may be conveyed in anysuitable manner, and that the display interfaces 400, 410, 420, 430,440, 450, 460, and 470, as shown in FIGS. 4A-4H, are just some examples.

As shown in FIG. 4A, display interface 400 may include an informationbox 401 that identifies the application. The display interface 400 mayalso include an interactive portion 402, which indicates to “VIEW YOURCOMPARISON GROUPS,” thereby enabling a user to view a list of his/hercomparison groups. Additionally, the display interface 400 may includean interactive portion 403, which indicates to “VIEW YOUR RANKINGS BYCOMPARISON GROUP,” thereby enabling a user to view a list of his/herrankings for each comparison group to which the user belongs. Further,the display interface 400 may include an interactive portion 404, whichindicates to “CREATE NEW COMPARISON GROUP,” thereby enabling a user tocreate a new comparison group. Lastly, the display interface 400 mayinclude an interactive portion 405, which indicates “CANCEL,” therebyenabling a user to exit the application, to return to a prior screen, toexit to the home screen, etc.

FIG. 4B depicts a display interface 410 that may be accessed if the userselects the interactive portion 402 (“VIEW YOUR COMPARISON GROUPS”) fromdisplay interface 400, as mentioned above. The display interface 410 mayinclude an information box 411 that identifies which page of the DCGapplication the user is viewing. The display interface 410 may alsoinclude interactive portions 412-415, which allows the user to viewinformation about a specific comparison group to which the user belongs.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the user belongs to four differentcomparison groups. In various aspects, this may be the result of theuser selecting parameters associated with each of these groups, therebycausing the electronic device to transmit these parameters to a remotecomputing device (e.g., server 200). Upon receiving this information,the server may identify other users that share this particularcustomizable parameter with the user and generate a comparison groupthat includes these users. In one aspect, the electronic device 300 maycommunicate with the server to retrieve and display a user's comparisongroups when the interactive portion 402 is selected, thereby presentingto the user a list of the user's current groups, as shown in FIG. 4B. Inanother aspect, if the user selects one of the listed comparison groups(e.g., the interactive portion 412), the user is directed to anotheruser interface that further displays information about that selectedcomparison group, which in this example is other users in the “same” agegroup as the user. This may include, for example, other drivers of thesame age or within a range of ages as specified by the user or inaccordance with a set of rules provided by the server 200.

As further discussed herein, the comparison groups may include anysuitable number and combination of customizable parameters. For example,although not shown in FIG. 4B, a comparison group could include acombination of some (or all) of the comparison groups shown in FIG. 4B,such that the comparison group would include the user and other drivershaving the same age, vehicle type, and workplace, for example.

Again, the display interface 410 may include an interactive portion 416,which indicates “CANCEL,” thereby enabling a user to exit theapplication, to return to a prior screen, to exit to the home screen,etc.

FIG. 4C depicts a display interface 420 that may be accessed if the userselects the interactive portion 412 (“SAME AGE COMPARISON GROUP”) ondisplay interface 410. As shown in FIG. 4C, the display interface 420may include an information box 421 that identifies which page of the DCGapplication the user is viewing. Additionally, the display interface 420may include another information box 422 that displays a list of therankings of drivers that belong to the selected comparison group, whichin this case is other drivers having the same age (or within the samerange of ages) as the user or “target” driver. Among the list ofrankings, the user may be identified. For example, the user may beidentified as “YOU” within information box 422.

Within information box 422, there may be interactive portions 423 thatindicate to “MESSAGE” and, when selected, allow the user to send amessage to another driver that belongs to the comparison groupidentified by information box 421 in any suitable manner (e.g., a textmessage, email, a push notification, etc.). Additionally, although notdepicted on the display interface 420 shown in FIG. 4C, the user may beable to send the same message to more than one driver that belongs tothe comparison group identified by information box 421. Again, thedisplay interface 420 may include an interactive portion 424, whichindicates “CANCEL,” thereby enabling a user to exit the application, toreturn to a prior screen, to exit to the home screen, etc.

FIG. 4D depicts a display interface 430 that may be accessed if the userselects interactive portion 413 (“VIEW YOUR RANKINGS BY COMPARISONGROUP”) from display interface 410. The display interface 430 mayinclude an information box 431 that identifies which page of the DCGapplication the user is viewing. Additionally, the display interface 430may include another information box 432 that displays the user'srankings for each comparison group to which the user belongs. The user'srankings for each comparison group listed in information box 432 may bedisplayed in any suitable manner, such as “X/Y” where “X” is the user'sranking in the comparison group and “Y” is the total number of driversthat belong to the comparison group. To provide other examples (notshown), the user's ranking may be expressed as a percentile, a tier orsegment (e.g., upper, mid, lower, etc.), as a graded system (e.g., A-F),etc. The display interface 430 may also include an interactive portion433, which indicates to “VIEW DISCOUNTS” when applicable, therebyenabling the user to view any discounts that the user's insuranceprovider may be offering to him/her for good driving behavior in theevent that the user's ranking is sufficiently high.

Additionally, the display interface 430 may also include an interactiveportion 434, which indicates to “VIEW RECOMMENDATIONS,” thereby enablingthe user to view any recommendations to improve his/her drivingbehavior. Again, the display interface 430 may include an interactiveportion 435, which indicates “CANCEL,” thereby enabling a user to exitthe application, to return to a prior screen, to exit to the homescreen, etc.

FIG. 4E depicts a display interface 440 that may be accessed upon theuser selecting the interactive portion 433 (“VIEW DISCOUNTS”) on displayinterface 430. The display interface 440 may include an information box441 that identifies which page of the DCG application the user isviewing. Additionally, the display interface 440 may include anotherinformation box 442 that congratulates the user for a high ranking in aparticular comparison group. Although not depicted on the user interface440 shown in FIG. 4E, the information box 442 may congratulate the userfor a high ranking in more than one particular comparison group. Theinformation box 442 may also display a discount for the user's nextmonth's automobile insurance premium. The display interface 440 may alsoinclude an interactive portion 443, which indicates “CANCEL,” therebyenabling a user to exit the application, to return to a prior screen, toexit to the home screen, etc.

FIG. 4F depicts a display interface 450 that may be accessed if the userselects the interactive portion 434 (“VIEW RECOMMENDATIONS”) fromdisplay interface 430. The display interface 450 may include aninformation box 451 that identifies which page of the DCG applicationthe user is viewing. Additionally, the display interface 450 may includeanother information box 452 that displays a list of recommendations tothe user to improve his/her driving behavior based upon a low ranking ina particular comparison group, or a ranking that otherwise does notqualify for any discount or other monetary incentive. Although notdepicted in the user interface 450 shown in FIG. 4F, the information box452 may indicate more than one particular comparison group in which theuser received a low ranking. The display interface 440 may also includean interactive portion 453, which indicates “CANCEL,” thereby enabling auser to exit the application, to return to a prior screen, to exit tothe home screen, etc.

FIG. 4G depicts a display interface 460 that may be accessed upon theuser selecting the interactive portion 404 (“CREATE NEW COMPARISONGROUP”) from display interface 400. The display interface 460 mayinclude an information box 461 that identifies which page of the DCGapplication the user is viewing. Additionally, the display interface 460may include another information box 462 that displays a list ofparameters that may be selected by the user to create a new comparisongroup. Within the information box 462, there may be interactive portions463 next to each parameter that are boxes that the user may “check” or“uncheck” based upon the one or more parameters by which the userselects to define a new comparison group. The interactive portions 463that are selected with a “check” thus indicate the selected one or moreparameters for a new comparison group. The display interface 460 mayalso include an interactive portion 464 (“ENTER),” thereby enabling theuser to submit his/her selections of variables that the new comparisongroup will be defined by and create the new comparison group. In such acase, the electronic device may transmit the selections to a remoteserver (e.g., server 200), which then matches other drivers having theselected parameters to create the new group. Additionally, the displayinterface 460 may include an interactive portion 465, which indicates“CANCEL,” thereby enabling a user to exit the application, to return toa prior screen, to exit to the home screen, etc.

FIG. 4H depicts a display interface 470 that may be accessed if the userselects the interactive portion 464 (“ENTER”) from display interface460. The display interface 470 may include an information box 471 thatidentifies which page of the DCG application the user is viewing. Thedisplay interface 470 may also include an interactive portion 472, whichindicates to “CLICK HERE TO ADD DRIVERS TO GROUP,” thereby enabling theuser to add drivers that match all of the variables selected by the userto the new comparison group. These aspects may be particular useful, forexample, to facilitate user selections of the drivers within thecomparison group instead of the remote server performing thesefunctions.

For example, if the user selected (i.e., “checked”) the parameter“DISTANCE FROM HOME” on display interface 460, and subsequentlysubmitted his/her selection by selecting interactive portion 464(“ENTER”) on display interface 460, the user may be able to add driversthat are within a threshold number of miles from his/her home byselecting the interactive portion 472 on display interface 470. Althoughnot depicted on the display interface 470 shown in FIG. 4H for purposesof brevity, the display interface 470 may also display an interactiveportion (or an information box with an embedded interactive portion)that may allow the user to enter the threshold amount of miles fromhis/her home to further define the comparison group, and thus, identifyonly drivers within the threshold amount of miles for inclusion into thecomparison group. Additionally, the display interface 470 may include aninteractive portion 473, which indicates “CANCEL,” thereby enabling auser to exit the application, to return to a prior screen, to exit tothe home screen, etc.

Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Using Dynamic ComparisonGroups for Ranking Drivers and Updating Insurance Information

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary flow diagram, in accordance with certainaspects of the present technology. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplarycomputer-implemented method 500 for using dynamic comparison groups torank drivers and update insurance information. In various aspects, oneor more portions of the method 500 (or the entire method 500) may befacilitated by one or more processors of a suitable computing device(such as the remote server 150 as discussed with respect to FIG. 1, theremote server 200 as discussed with respect to FIG. 2, the electronicdevices 125, 135, and 145 as discussed with respect to FIG. 1, theelectronic device 300 as discussed with respect to FIG. 3, etc.). In oneaspect, a remote server may receive telematics data and execute one ormore applications to facilitate the functionalities of the method 500.For example, method 500 may be realized via execution of the DCGapplication 262 via controller 220 and/or processor unit 240, asdiscussed above with reference to FIG. 2.

In various aspects, the DCG application 262 may support a “gamified”overall system and interface, such as the various interfaces shown anddiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 4A-4H, for example. Thegamification of the DCG application 262 may advantageously allow formore enjoyment from the users (i.e., drivers), and therefore more usersmay decide to participate by opting-in, downloading, and participatingin the system to be ranked within one or more comparison groups. Thegamification of the DCG application 262 may also promote competitionbetween the drivers of a comparison group because of the ranking ofdrivers (such as the display interfaces 420 and 430 as discussed withrespect to FIGS. 4C-4D) within each comparison group. Additionally, theincentive to receive discounts on a driver's automobile insurancepremium for a high ranking within a comparison group may motivate thedriver to exhibit safer driving behavior and to achieve a higher rankingwithin a comparison group.

The gamification of the DCG application 262 may also function as asocial network, allowing drivers that belong to the same comparisongroup to interact with one another. For example, as shown in the displayinterface 420, drivers may be able to send messages to other driverswithin the same comparison group. This feature may enhance the enjoymentand competition for each driver that belongs to that comparison group.Additionally, the ability for a driver to create his/her own customizedcomparison groups based upon customizable selected parameters (such asthose shown in the display interface 460 as discussed with respect toFIG. 4G) allows drivers that share the same parameters (i.e., belong tothe same comparison group) to communicate with and compete with oneanother. This may open up additional options regarding meeting otherdrivers that are the same age, live in the same neighborhood, etc., thathe/she may have otherwise never met.

The method 500 may begin when the one or more processors receive a firstset of telematics data associated with a vehicle (such as the targetvehicle, as previously discussed) (block 505). Again, this first set oftelematics data may include information related to vehicle speed,acceleration, cornering, braking, direction, route, heading, GPSinformation (e.g., speed and location), etc., as well as weatherconditions, road conditions, traffic conditions, etc., at the time thefirst set of telematics data was received.

Using Customizable Parameters to Create Comparison Groups

Method 500 may include one or more processors identifying one or morecomparison groups including the driver and a plurality of other driversthat share a set of common customizable parameters (block 510). Inparticular, each of the other drivers may be associated with operating arespective vehicle. In various aspects, the customizable parameters mayinclude any suitable customizable parameters identified by the targetuser, the insurer, one of the other drivers, etc. For example, thecustomizable parameters may include parameters or other informationbased upon demographics, location, time, behavior, driving routes, atype of vehicle, weather, a type of social networking group to whicheach driver participates (including the system described herein), etc.Therefore, a comparison group may be created by identifying otherdrivers having parameters that match the selected parameters. In thisway, a user of the DCG application 262 (e.g., the driver of the targetvehicle) may create very specific and granular comparison group(s) basedupon the user's preferences. Examples for each type of parameter areprovided below:

Demographics: Drivers that share the same demographic parameter(s) maybe, for example, in the same age group, same income bracket, same jobtitle, have the same immediate or extended family, etc.

Location: Drivers that share the same location parameter(s) may bedefined, for example, by drivers in the same office building, the sameneighborhood, the same zip code, the same city, etc. Furthermore,drivers that share the same location parameter(s) may be defined, forexample, by drivers within a defined threshold radius or within adefined geofence from a specific location.

Time: Drivers that share the same time parameter(s) may be defined, forexample, by drivers that travel on the same roadways or frequent thesame locations at the same time of day, day of the week, etc.

Behavior: Drivers that share the same behavior parameter(s) may bedefined, for example, by various types of lifestyle and/or psychographicinformation, such as drivers who frequent the same locations (e.g.,restaurants, gas stations, retail stores, etc.), consistently drivewithin a certain threshold miles per hour (mph) of the speed limit,drivers in similar credit score tiers, drivers who have similar drivingrecords, drivers having similar commute patterns, etc.

Driving routes: Drivers that share the same driving routes parameter(s)may be defined, for example, by an indication of drivers that travel thesame roadways frequently, travel mostly on highways, avoid travelling onhighways, etc.

Type of vehicle: Drivers that share the same type of vehicleparameter(s) may be defined, for example, by drivers with the same makeand model of vehicle (e.g., Toyota Camry, Ford Escape, etc.), the samemake of vehicle (e.g., Subaru, Honda, etc.), the same class of vehicle(e.g., compact, midsize, SUV, pickup truck, etc.), the same color ofvehicle, etc.

Weather: Drivers that share the same weather parameter(s) may bedefined, for example, by drivers that travel on the same roadways duringthe same weather conditions (e.g., clear and sunny, rain, snow, fog,etc.).

Social Networking Group: Drivers that share the same type of socialnetworking group parameter(s) may be defined, for example, by driverswho belong to the same social networking group such as drivers who areactive participants of the same type of social networks (e.g., Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.), have the same circle of friends,are involved in similar activities, are in the same sports league,etc.).

To determine if a particular driver belongs in a certain comparisongroup, one or more of the customizable parameters may be associated witheach driver and accessed by a computing device (e.g., server 200) tomatch drivers to selected parameters. Information such as personalinformation, automobile insurance policy information, telematics datafor a vehicle associated with the driver, third party data, etc., may beaccessed to determine whether each driver should be matched to variousdefined parameters and, if so, then included in a comparison group withother drivers having the same parameters in common.

For example, personal information for the driver may be used todetermine the age of the driver, the home and/or work address of thedriver, the gender of the driver, etc. As another example, theautomobile insurance policy information for the driver may be used todetermine the make, model, year of manufacture, color, etc., for thevehicle associated with the driver, as well as information about thedriver's current and previous automobile insurance premiums, current andprevious rankings for the comparison groups to which the driver belongs,etc. To provide yet another example, the telematics data (e.g., GPSdata, heading, route, etc.) for a vehicle associated with the driver maybe used to determine the speeds at which the driver operates thevehicle, roadways used frequently by the driver, businesses that thedriver frequently visits, time of day and day of week that the drivertravels in his/her vehicle, etc. To provide an additional example,third-party data may be accessed and used to determine social networkingand other behavior.

Notifying Other Drivers Once a Comparison Group is Created

Again, a driver may create a customized comparison group by selectingthe desired customizable parameters via a suitable computing device(e.g., the electronic device 300), as shown and discussed above withreference to FIGS. 4A and 4G. For example, the driver may select theinteractive portion 404 from display interface 400, which may direct thedriver to the display interface 460 and allow the user to selectparameters for the comparison group the driver wants to create. Invarious aspects, after the driver creates the customized comparisongroup, the one or more processors of the electronic device may result ina notification being transmitted directly or indirectly (e.g., via theremote server 300) to the other drivers in the comparison grouprequesting that they join. For example, the driver may select theinteractive portion 472 from the display interface 470, as shown in FIG.4H, to cause a notification to be transmitted to other electronicdevices associated with each of the other drivers in the comparisongroup. The notification to join the group may be transmitted in anysuitable format, such as in the form of a text message, an email, aphone call, a push notification, a message within the DCG application262 when executed on a mobile computing device, etc.

In various aspects, after the notification requesting other drivers tojoin the comparison group is sent, the one or more processors mayidentify a subset of participating drivers from those in the initialcomparison group (i.e., all drivers matching the selected parametersdiscussed herein) that includes only the drivers who have agreed tojoin. For example, the subset of participating drivers may include thosedrivers who accepted an invitation via text message, email, pushnotification, etc. to join the comparison group, which may be sent froman electronic device associated with the driver who created thecomparison group. In some embodiments, the driver who creates acomparison group may receive a notification (i.e., via his or herrespective electronic device) whenever another driver accepts theinvitation to join the comparison group, thereby allowing the driver whocreated the comparison group to know which drivers, how many drivers,etc. accepted the invitation to join the comparison group.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the driver who created the comparisongroup may act as an administrator of the created comparison group, andmay therefore have the ability to refuse particular drivers fromjoining, remove particular drivers, etc. Further, in certainembodiments, each of the drivers that are allowed to join the comparisongroup may be able to view the other drivers within the comparison groupvia a display interface associated with each respective electronicdevice (such as the information box 422 of the display interface 420, asdiscussed above with respect to FIG. 4C).

In some embodiments, a comparison group may be static, meaning no newdrivers may join the group after it is created. But in otherembodiments, a comparison group may be dynamic, meaning new drivers whohave the same parameters in common with the other drivers in thecomparison group may be periodically added to that comparison group atany time after the comparison group was originally created. These newdrivers may be identified, for example, via the one or more processorsof the server 200 periodically or continuously searching for drivershaving the parameters matching those that define the comparison group.Once these new drivers are identifies, embodiments include the server200 transmitting notifications to an electronic device associated witheach of these newly identified drivers requesting that they join thecomparison group. In other embodiments, the one or more processors ofthe server 200 may transmit a notification to an electronic deviceassociated with a target, or administrator, of the comparison group, andallow the administrator to decide whether additional drivers should beasked to join.

In still other embodiments, the one or more processors of the server 200may automatically update the drivers within one or more comparisongroups with little or no user intervention. For example, the server 200may periodically (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) identify newdrivers having parameters matching those that define one or morecomparison groups, and automatically add these new drivers as new datais obtained.

Selectively Accessing Telematics Data

After the comparison group is formed, the method 500 may include the oneor more processors selectively accessing a second set of telematics dataassociated with each of the other vehicles (block 515). In variousaspects, this may include only accessing telematics data associated witheach driver who has agreed to be added to the comparison group (i.e.,the subset of participating drivers, as discussed herein). In otheraspects, selectively accessing the second set of telematics data mayinclude, for example, only accessing telematics data for drivers whohave opted-in to sharing their data or having their telematics datacollected and transmitted to another party, such as an insurer. In stillother aspects, selectively accessing the second set of telematics datamay include, for example, only accessing telematics data for drivers whohave a threshold amount of telematics data collected, such that anaccurate ranking may be performed.

In various aspects, the first set of telematics data and the second setof telematics data set of telematics data may include similarinformation that may be used to assess the relative driving safety andperformance of each driver within a created comparisons group. Forexample, like the first set of telematics data, the second set oftelematics data may also include sensor data associated with vehicleacceleration, velocity, cornering, braking, direction, route, heading,GPS information (e.g., speed and location), other location data, otherinformation for each vehicle, etc., as well as weather conditions, roadconditions, traffic conditions, etc. at the time the second set oftelematics data was received. Moreover, the second set of telematicsdata may also be associated with each driver's vehicle within thecomparison group.

Comparing Sets of Telematics Data and Calculating Ranking Metrics

Method 500 may include the one or more processors calculating a rankingmetric for the driver and the other drivers within the comparison group(block 520). In various embodiments, the ranking metrics may be theresult of calculating a driving score for each driver within aparticular comparison group in any suitable manner, or the result ofcomparing data included within the various sets of telematics data in asingle comparison group to one another.

To provide an illustrative example, the sets of telematics dataassociated with each driver within a comparison group may be analyzedover any suitable sampling period to calculate, for each driver, adriving score. For instance, this driving score may be based upontelematics data for each driver that is collected over the past day,week, month, etc. In various aspects, the driving score may correspondto any suitable combination, weighting, aggregation, etc., of variousmetrics indicated by the telematics data at any given point in time oraveraged over several driving sessions.

Continuing this example, a ranking metric may be represented as adriving score having a quantified scaled value, grading system, etc.,that indicates driving safety and performance for each particular driverwithin a comparison group. For example, the driving score may berepresented as a number between 0 and 100, with 0 representing the leastsafe type of driver, and 100 representing the safest type of driver. Tofacilitate such calculations, aspects include the driving scorecalculation being implemented by starting with the highest safety rating(i.e., 100 in this example), and being reduced over time upon theoccurrence of various driving events, as indicated by the various sensormetrics includes in the first and second sets of telematics data.

Continuing this example, acceleration, braking, and cornering datavalues included in the telematics data (e.g., measured viaaccelerometers) may indicate when each driver accelerated too fast, hitthe brakes too hard, turned too quickly, etc. Furthermore, velocity dataincluded in the telematics data may indicate whether, when correlated tothe geographic location data, each driver typically obeys posted speedlimits. Moreover, aspects include establishing a weighted system thatdeducts more points from the initial driving score based upon theseverity of each event. For example, driving events related toacceleration, cornering, and braking may be categorized based upon theirseverity using a graduating thresholding system, where increasingthreshold values, when exceeded, indicate increasing event severity. Toprovide another example, driving events related to speeding may befurther categorized by severity based upon how much faster than theposted speed limit the operator was driving the vehicle.

These deductions may be calculated over any suitable time frame suchthat a driver's driving score accurately reflects her overall drivingsafety. For example, a new driving score may be calculated for eachdriving session, with the driving score representing a cumulative orrolling average of previous driving scores.

In other aspects, the ranking metrics may be based upon a comparison ofcertain data included in the sets of telematics data for each driverwithin a comparison group. In accordance with such aspects, one or morespecific metrics may be selected and compared based upon their relativeimportance and relevance in ascertaining safe driving. To provide anillustrative example, the ranking metric may be based upon each averagevehicle's velocity on one or more roads or how often each vehicle drivesin excess of the posted speed limit. To this end, the vehicle speed fromthe first set of telematics data may be compared with the vehicle speedfor each of the vehicles from the second set of telematics data.

Continuing this example, one vehicle (e.g., a “target” vehicle A) maydrive, on average, 5 mph in excess of posted speed limits, whereasanother vehicle within the comparison group (Vehicle “B” in thisexample) may drive, on average, 7 mph in excess of posted speed limits,and a third vehicle (Vehicle “C”) may drive, on average 10 mph in excessof posted speed limits. Therefore, when the vehicle speed data for theVehicles A, B, and C are compared to one another, a ranking metric couldbe calculated that indicates that a driver associated with Vehicle Ashould be ranked higher than the driver associated with Vehicle B, whichshould be ranked higher than the driver associated with Vehicle C.

To provide another illustrative example, one or more metrics included inthe first and second sets of telematics data may be compared to anoptimum value, or range of values, for each particular type oftelematics data or sensor metric being compared. Using such a system,each driver may be ranked according to how close he or she drove atparticular times, on particular routes or particular roads, on average,etc., within these defined ranges. In various aspects, these ranges mayalso be dynamically updated as competition increases (e.g., “tightenedup”) among drivers within the same comparison group, thereby furtherincentivizing good driving behavior to remain a top-ranking driver.

Ranking Drivers within a Comparison Group

Again, based upon the comparison between the first set of telematicsdata with the second set of telematics data, a ranking metric may becalculated for each driver within a comparison group. The method 500 mayinclude the one or more processors ranking each driver within thecomparison group using this calculated ranking metric (block 525). Inthis way, the rankings indicate which drivers exhibit safe drivingbehavior and which drivers exhibit less safe driving behavior withinspecifically-defined groups. In other words, drivers that are rankedhigher exhibit safer driving behavior than those that are ranked lower.In such a case, the driver that is ranked #1 in a comparison group isthe safest driver in that comparison group, and the driver that isranked last in the comparison group is the least safe driver in thatcomparison group.

In various aspects, drivers within the same comparison group may beranked in accordance with any suitable system that utilizes theaforementioned ranking metrics. For instance, the rankings may be basedupon an average ranking of different types of telematics data for eachdriver. Continuing this example, a ranking metric may be calculated foreach type of telematics data or sensor metric (e.g., acceleration,cornering, velocity, braking, etc.), and then these rankings metrics maybe averaged by the total number of types of telematics data that wereranked. This averaging system may include weighted averages or viastraight-averaging techniques. For example, if the types of telematicsdata that are ranked are vehicle speed, acceleration, cornering, andbraking, the total ranking for a driver would be the sum of the each ofthe rankings divided by four (since there are four different types oftelematics data that are ranked). Therefore, if the driver was ranked #3for vehicle speed, #6 for acceleration, #4 for cornering, and #8 forbraking, the sum of the rankings would be 21 and the average ranking forthe driver would be 5.25 (21/4).

In certain embodiments, conditions such as weather conditions, roadconditions, traffic conditions, etc. may contribute in determiningdriver rankings within a comparison group, assuming that weatherconditions was not a parameter selected to define that particularcomparison group. For example, if two different drivers (Driver X andDriver Y in this example) belonging to the same comparison group bothtook a right turn at 5 mph, but it was raining while Driver X wasoperating his/her vehicle, Driver Y may be ranked higher because DriverX should have been driving slower while making a right turn in wet roadconditions. As another example, if the same two Drivers X and Y weretraveling 5 mph over the respective posted speed limits on respectiveroadways, but Driver Y was operating his/her vehicle at a time whenthere was road construction, Driver X may be ranked higher becauseDriver Y should have been driving closer to the posted speed limit dueto the road construction.

Transmitting Notifications to Drivers within a Comparison Group

In various aspects, after the rankings for each driver in a comparisongroup are determined, the one or more processors may optionally transmitone or more notifications to each driver's respective electronic device(block 530). For example, these notifications may include informationindicative of the rankings of each driver in a comparison group.Continuing this example, the one or more processors may transmit theranking for each driver within the comparison group to an electronicdevice for presentation within a gamified interface (e.g., the DCGapplication) discussed above with reference to FIGS. 4A-4H.

To provide another example, the one or more processors may transmit anotification to a top threshold percentage of ranked drivers within thecomparison group offering a discount on automobile insurance premiumsbased upon each driver's individual rank in that comparison group (block530). For example, the top threshold percentage for a comparison groupmay be the top 5%, the top 10%, the top 25%, etc., of the ranked driversin the comparison group. For example, for a comparison group with 20participating drivers, the four highest ranking drivers may be offered adiscount on automobile insurance premiums to facilitate encouragingrisk-averse driving.

In various aspects, an insurer may establish which comparison groupsqualify for discounts or rules that determine how driver may qualify forsuch discounts. For example, an insurer may determine that a particularregion or age bracket could particularly benefit from safer driving, andprovide discounts to top-ranked drivers in comparison groups associatedwith those regions or age groups. To provide another example, discountson automobile insurance premiums may be determined based upon anindividual driver's combined or average ranking out of all of thecomparison groups of which he/she may belong. For example, theinformation box 432 of display interface 430 shows that the driverrankings were #4, #8, #1, and #3, respectively, for each of the fourcomparison groups. Therefore, the combined or average ranking for thedriver for all four comparison groups is #4 (16/4). Certain aspectsinclude the insurance provider using this average ranking as opposed to(or in addition to) the ranking of any one comparison groups todetermine whether the driver is eligible for a discount on his/herautomobile insurance premium.

Again, the gamified interface may include one or more recommendations toimprove the driver's driving habits and to improve the driver's rankwithin the comparison group. In some embodiments, the one or moreprocessors may transmit a notification to a bottom threshold percentageof ranked drivers within the comparison group offering suchrecommendations. For example, the bottom threshold percentage for acomparison group may be the bottom 5%, the bottom 10%, the bottom 25%,etc., of the ranked drivers. For a comparison group with 20participating drivers, the four lowest ranking drivers may be offeredone or more recommendations to improve each driver's driving habits, andtherefore his or her ranking, within the comparison group.

Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Using Dynamic ComparisonGroups for Assessing Driving Safety

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for dynamic comparisongroups for assessing driving safety may be provided. The method mayinclude one or more processors (1) receiving a first set of telematicsdata associated with a vehicle operated by a driver; (2) identifying oneor more comparison groups including the driver and a plurality of otherdrivers that share a set of common customizable parameters, each driverfrom among the plurality of other drivers operating a respective vehiclefrom among a plurality of other vehicles; (3) selectively accessing asecond set of telematics data associated with each of the plurality ofother vehicles; (4) calculating a ranking metric for the driver and eachof the plurality of other drivers based upon the first set of telematicsdata and the second set of telematics data to generate a set of rankingmetrics, and/or (5) ranking the driver and the plurality of otherdrivers within the comparison group based upon the set of rankingmetrics. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, in various aspects, the set of customizable parametersinclude at least one of: (i) demographics, (ii) location, (iii) time,(iv) behavior, (v) driving routes, (vi) a type of vehicle, (vii)weather, and (viii) a type of social networking group.

The method may further include transmitting the ranking for the driverwithin the comparison group to an electronic device for presentation tothe driver within a gamified interface. The gamified interface furtherincludes one or more recommendations to improve the driver's drivinghabits and to improve the driver's rank within the comparison group.

Additionally or alternatively, the method may include (1) transmitting anotification to the plurality of other drivers in the comparison grouprequesting that they join the comparison group; and (2) identifying asubset of participating drivers from among the plurality of drivers whoagree to join the comparison group; and/or (3) the act of selectivelyaccessing the second set of telematics data associated with each of theplurality of other vehicles includes only accessing telematics data foreach of the vehicles associated with each driver among the subset ofparticipating drivers.

Furthermore, the method may include (1) transmitting, to a respectiveelectronic device associated with each of the participating drivers,each participating driver's individual ranking within the comparisongroup; and/or (2) transmitting a notification to a top thresholdpercentage of ranked drivers within the comparison group offering adiscount on insurance premiums based upon each driver's individual rank.

Exemplary Remote Server for Using Dynamic Comparison Groups forAssessing Driving Safety

In another aspect, a server for dynamic comparison groups for assessingdriving safety may be provided. The server may include (1) acommunication unit configured to receive a first set of telematics dataassociated with a vehicle operated by a driver; and (2) a processor unitconfigured to: (a) identify one or more comparison groups including thedriver and a plurality of other drivers that share a set of commoncustomizable parameters, each driver from among the plurality of otherdrivers operating a respective vehicle from among a plurality of othervehicles; (b) selectively access a second set of telematics dataassociated with each of the plurality of other vehicles; (c) calculate aranking metric for the driver and each of the plurality of other driversbased upon the first set of telematics data and the second set oftelematics data to generate a set of ranking metrics; and/or (d) rankingthe driver and the plurality of other drivers within the comparisongroup based upon the set of ranking metrics. The server may includeadditional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussedelsewhere herein.

For instance, in various aspects, the set of customizable parametersinclude at least one of: (i) demographics, (ii) location, (iii) time,(iii) behavior, (iv) driving routes, (vi) a type of vehicle, (vii)weather, and (viii) a type of social networking group.

The communication unit may further be configured to transmit the rankingfor the driver within the comparison group to an electronic device forpresentation to the driver within a gamified interface. The gamifiedinterface further includes one or more recommendations to improve thedriver's driving habits and to improve the driver's rank within thecomparison group.

Additionally or alternatively, (1) the communication unit may further beconfigured to transmit a notification to the plurality of other driversin the comparison group requesting that they join the comparison group,and/or (2) the processor unit may be further configured to identify asubset of participating drivers from among the plurality of drivers whoagree to join the comparison group, and to selectively access the secondset of telematics data associated with each of the plurality of othervehicles includes by only accessing telematics data for each of thevehicles associated with each driver among the subset of participatingdrivers.

Furthermore, the communication unit may further be configured to (1)transmit, to a respective electronic device associated with each of theparticipating drivers, each participating driver's individual rankingwithin the comparison group; and/or (2) transmit a notification to a topthreshold percentage of ranked drivers within the comparison groupoffering a discount on insurance premiums based upon each driver'sindividual rank.

Exemplary Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Medium for Using DynamicComparison Groups for Assessing Driving Safety

In yet another aspect, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium or media for dynamic comparison groups for assessing drivingsafety may be provided. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium may include instructions executable by one or more processorsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to (1) receive a first set of telematics data associated witha vehicle operated by a driver; (2) identify one or more comparisongroups including the driver and a plurality of other drivers that sharea set of common customizable parameters, each driver from among theplurality of other drivers operating a respective vehicle from among aplurality of other vehicles; (3) selectively access a second set oftelematics data associated with each of the plurality of other vehicles;(4) calculate a ranking metric for the driver and each of the pluralityof other drivers based upon the first set of telematics data and thesecond set of telematics data to generate a set of ranking metrics; and(5) rank the driver and the plurality of other drivers within thecomparison group based upon the set of ranking metrics. The instructionsmay include or direct additional, less, or alternate functionality,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, in various aspects, the set of customizable parametersinclude at least one of: (i) demographics, (ii) location, (iii) time,(iii) behavior, (iv) driving routes, (vi) a type of vehicle, (vii)weather, and (viii) a type of social networking group.

The instructions, when executed by one or more processors, may furthercause the one or more processors to transmit the ranking for the driverwithin the comparison group to an electronic device for presentation tothe driver within a gamified interface that includes one or morerecommendations to improve the driver's driving habits and to improvethe driver's rank within the comparison group.

Additionally or alternatively, the instructions, when executed by one ormore processors, may further cause the one or more processors to (1)transmit a notification to the plurality of other drivers in thecomparison group requesting that they join the comparison group; (2)identify a subset of participating drivers from among the plurality ofdrivers who agree to join the comparison group; and/or (3) selectivelyaccess the second set of telematics data associated with each of theplurality of other vehicles by only accessing telematics data for eachof the vehicles associated with each driver among the subset ofparticipating drivers.

Furthermore, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors,may further cause the one or more processors to (1) transmit, to arespective electronic device associated with each of the participatingdrivers, each participating driver's individual ranking within thecomparison group; and/or (2) transmit a notification to a top thresholdpercentage of ranked drivers within the comparison group offering adiscount on insurance premiums based upon each driver's individual rank.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

As used herein, the term “vehicle” is used interchangeably with“automobile” and the term “automobile” refers to any type of poweredtransportation device, which includes, but is not limited to, a car,truck, bus, motorcycle, or boat—including fully or partiallyself-driving (i.e., autonomous or semi-autonomous) vehicles. While avehicle may be described herein as being controlled by an operator orinsured individual, the aspects described herein also apply toautonomous vehicles that may be unmanned and/or operated remotely or inanother suitable fashion, such as via controls other than the steeringwheel, gear shift, brake pedal, and accelerator pedal.

The systems and methods described herein are directed to an improvementto computer functionality, and improve the functioning of conventionalcomputers.

With the foregoing, an insurance customer may opt-in to a rewards,insurance discount, or other type of program. After the insurancecustomer provides their affirmative consent, an insurance providerremote server may collect data from the customer's mobile device,on-board vehicle computer, or other devices—such as with the customer'spermission or affirmative consent. The data collected may be related tovehicle functionality (or vehicle occupant preferences or preferenceprofiles) or vehicle operation, and/or insured assets before (and/orafter) an insurance-related event, including those events discussedelsewhere herein. In return, risk-averse insureds, vehicle owners, orvehicle occupants may receive discounts or insurance cost savingsrelated to auto insurance, as well as home, renters, personal articles,and other types of insurance from the insurance provider.

In one aspect, smart or interconnected vehicle data, and/or other data,including the types of data discussed elsewhere herein, may be collectedor received by an insurance provider remote server, such as via director indirect wireless communication or data transmission from an on-boardvehicle computer, mobile device, or other customer computing device,after a customer affirmatively consents or otherwise opts-in to aninsurance discount, reward, or other program. The insurance provider maythen analyze the data received with the customer's permission to providebenefits to the customer. As a result, risk-averse customers may receiveinsurance discounts or other insurance cost savings based upon data thatreflects low risk behavior and/or technology that mitigates or preventsrisk to (i) insured assets, such as homes, personal belongings, orvehicles, and/or (ii) vehicle, home, or apartment occupants.

This detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and doesnot describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possibleembodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One may be implementnumerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this application.

Furthermore, although the present disclosure sets forth a detaileddescription of numerous different embodiments, it should be understoodthat the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of theclaims set forth at the end of this patent and equivalents. The detaileddescription is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describeevery possible embodiment since describing every possible embodimentwould be impractical. Numerous alternative embodiments may beimplemented, using either current technology or technology developedafter the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within thescope of the claims. Although the following text sets forth a detaileddescription of numerous different embodiments, it should be understoodthat the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of theclaims set forth at the end of this patent and equivalents. The detaileddescription is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describeevery possible embodiment since describing every possible embodimentwould be impractical. Numerous alternative embodiments may beimplemented, using either current technology or technology developedafter the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within thescope of the claims.

The following additional considerations apply to the foregoingdiscussion. Throughout this specification, plural instances mayimplement components, operations, or structures described as a singleinstance. Although individual operations of one or more methods areillustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of theindividual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothingrequires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated.Structures and functionality presented as separate components in exampleconfigurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component.Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single componentmay be implemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal) or hardware.In hardware, the routines, etc., are tangible units capable ofperforming certain operations and may be configured or arranged in acertain manner. In exemplary embodiments, one or more computer systems(e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or morehardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group ofprocessors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some exemplary embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a vehicle, withina home environment, an office environment, or a server farm). In otherexample embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implementedmodules may be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it isobvious that it is meant otherwise.

The patent claims at the end of this patent application are not intendedto be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditionalmeans-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as “means for”or “step for” language being explicitly recited in the claim(s).

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for assessingdrivers, comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, a first setof telematics data associated with a vehicle operated by a driver;receiving, by the one or more processors, a selection of one or morecommon customizable parameters; determining, by the one or moreprocessors, a plurality of other drivers that share the one or morecommon customizable parameters with the driver to identify one or morecomparison groups; identifying, by the one or more processors, a subsetof participating drivers from among the plurality of other drivers whohave agreed to join the identified one or more comparison groups;selectively accessing, by the one or more processors, a second set oftelematics data associated with each of a plurality of other vehiclesoperated by each of the subset of participating drivers from among theplurality of other drivers who have agreed to join the identified one ormore comparison groups; calculating, by the one or more processors,ranking metrics for the driver and each of the subset of participatingdrivers from among the plurality of other drivers based upon acomparison of the first set of telematics data and the second set oftelematics data; ranking, by the one or more processors, the driver andeach of the subset of participating drivers from among the plurality ofother drivers in the identified one or more comparison groups based uponthe ranking metrics; and causing, by the one or more processors, theranking in the identified one or more comparison groups to be displayedin a user interface of an electronic device of the driver.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more commoncustomizable parameters include at least one of: (i) demographics, (ii)location, (iii) time, (iv) behavior, (v) driving routes, (vi) a type ofvehicle, (vii) weather, or (viii) a type of social networking group. 3.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, by the one or more processors, the ranking in theidentified one or more comparison groups to the electronic device forpresentation to the driver within a gamified interface.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the gamified interfacefurther includes one or more recommendations to improve the driver'sdriving habits and to improve the driver's rank within the identifiedone or more comparison groups.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising transmitting a notification to the pluralityof other drivers that share the one or more common customizableparameters with the driver requesting that the plurality of otherdrivers join the identified one or more comparison groups.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising transmittingranking information for each of the subset of participating drivers to arespective electronic device associated with each of the subset ofparticipating drivers.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising transmitting a notification to a top thresholdpercentage of drivers ranked within the identified one or morecomparison groups to offer a discount on insurance premiums based uponthe ranking.
 8. A server configured to assess drivers, comprising: acommunication unit; and a processor unit configured to: receive, via thecommunication unit, a first set of telematics data associated with avehicle operated by a driver; receive, via the communication unit, aselection of one or more common customizable parameters; determine aplurality of other drivers that share the one or more commoncustomizable parameters with the driver to identify one or morecomparison groups; identify a subset of participating drivers from amongthe plurality of other drivers who have agreed to join the identifiedone or more comparison groups; selectively access, via the communicationunit, a second set of telematics data associated with each of aplurality of other vehicles operated by each of the subset ofparticipating drivers from among the plurality of other drivers who haveagreed to join the identified one or more comparison groups; calculateranking metrics for the driver and each of the subset of participatingdrivers from among the plurality of other drivers based upon acomparison of the first set of telematics data and the second set oftelematics data; rank the driver and each of the subset of participatingdrivers from among the plurality of other drivers in the identified oneor more comparison groups based upon the ranking metrics; and cause theranking in the identified one or more comparison groups to be displayedin a user interface of an electronic device of the driver.
 9. The serverof claim 8, wherein the one or more common customizable parametersinclude at least one of: (i) demographics, (ii) location, (iii) time,(iv) behavior, (v) driving routes, (vi) a type of vehicle, (vii)weather, or (viii) a type of social networking group.
 10. The server ofclaim 8, wherein the processor unit is further configured to transmitthe ranking in the identified one or more comparison groups to theelectronic device for presentation to the driver within a gamifiedinterface.
 11. The server of claim 10, wherein the gamified interfacefurther includes one or more recommendations to improve the driver'sdriving habits and to improve the driver's rank within the identifiedone or more comparison groups.
 12. The server of claim 8, wherein theprocessor unit is further configured to transmit a notification to theplurality of other drivers that share the one or more commoncustomizable parameters with the driver requesting that the plurality ofother drivers join the identified one or more comparison groups.
 13. Theserver of claim 12, wherein the processor unit is further configured totransmit ranking information for each of the subset of participatingdrivers to a respective electronic device associated with each of thesubset of participating drivers.
 14. The server of claim 8, wherein theprocessor unit is further configured to transmit a notification to a topthreshold percentage of drivers ranked within the identified one or morecomparison groups to offer a discount on insurance premiums based uponthe ranking.
 15. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that, when executed by one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to: receive a first set of telematicsdata associated with a vehicle operated by a driver; receive a selectionof one or more common customizable parameters; determine a plurality ofother drivers that share the one or more common customizable parameterswith the driver to identify one or more comparison groups; identify asubset of participating drivers from among the plurality of otherdrivers who have agreed to join the identified one or more comparisongroups; selectively access a second set of telematics data associatedwith each of a plurality of other vehicles operated by each of thesubset of participating drivers from among the plurality of otherdrivers who have agreed to join the identified one or more comparisongroups; calculate ranking metrics for the driver and each of the subsetof participating drivers from among the plurality of other drivers basedupon a comparison of the first set of telematics data and the second setof telematics data; rank the driver and each of the subset ofparticipating drivers from among the plurality of other drivers in theidentified one or more comparison groups based upon the ranking metrics;and cause the ranking in the identified one or more comparison groups tobe displayed in a user interface of an electronic device of the driver.16. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the one or more common customizable parameters include at leastone of: (i) demographics, (ii) location, (iii) time, (iv) behavior, (v)driving routes, (vi) a type of vehicle, (vii) weather, or (viii) a typeof social networking group.
 17. The tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, further cause the one or moreprocessors to transmit the ranking in the identified one or morecomparison groups to the electronic device for presentation to thedriver within a gamified interface, the gamified interface including oneor more recommendations to improve the driver's driving habits and toimprove the driver's rank within the one or more comparison groups. 18.The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors,further cause the one or more processors to transmit a notification tothe plurality of other drivers that share the one or more commoncustomizable parameters with the driver requesting that the plurality ofother drivers join the identified one or more comparison groups.
 19. Thetangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 18, whereinthe instructions, when executed by one or more processors, further causethe one or more processors to transmit ranking information for each ofthe subset of participating drivers to a respective electronic deviceassociated with each of the subset of participating drivers.
 20. Thetangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereinthe instructions, when executed by one or more processors, further causethe one or more processors to transmit a notification to a top thresholdpercentage of drivers ranked within the identified one or morecomparison groups to offer a discount on insurance premiums based uponthe ranking.